Corporate travel’s future is not online, claims Travel Counsellors

The business travel arm of Travel Counsellors has reported sales up by more than a quarter in January and February over the same time last year.

The business travel arm of Travel Counsellors has reported sales up by more than a quarter in January and February over the same time last year.

The independent home working agency claims online is not the answer for growth in the corporate travel sector as it handles less than one per cent of its business online.

Managing director Steve Byrne said: “Our results for 2013 so far help to validate that our approach to corporate travel is working. Sales for February alone were up by 40% on February 2012.

“We expect sales to grow by around £15 million in 2013, and one of the key factors behind this is our truly personal, tailored approach.

“We don’t rely on the internet to handle bookings. We have more than 100 travel counsellors who specialise in corporate travel and deal with their clients personally.

“That’s not to say that the internet can’t play a supportive role, but our success in the corporate travel world is testament to the fact that the future for the industry lies in personal customer service not online.

“We don’t have call centres, instead each travel counsellor deals with their clients on an individual level and builds a relationship with them, which is almost unheard of in corporate travel. ”

The company revealed that growth is coming from new business, this has been supported by client retention rate of 99%.

Byrne added: “Our client retention rate helps to prove that corporate clients value the service we deliver, proving that personal customer service is the future.

To help our travel counsellors deliver the best, personal customer service we intend to invest in the latest technology.”

Growth in 2013 will be underpinned by recruiting the “very best” business travel specialists in the industry.